Scientists propose converting natural gas into hydrogen directly in gas fields

Skoltech researchers have discovered a technique to produce hydrogen from pure fuel with 45% effectivity proper within the fuel subject by injecting steam and a catalyst right into a properly and including oxygen to ignite the fuel. Catalyst-assisted combustion produces a combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, from which the latter might be simply extracted. This expertise will assist speed up the transition from fossil fuels to scrub hydrogen energy. The research was published in Gas.

Roughly 80% of power comes from fossil fuels, equivalent to oil and natural gaswhich launch carbon dioxide when burned, threatening the surroundings and contributing to local weather change. Though fuel is taken into account “cleaner” than oil with its many toxins, it nonetheless emits carbon dioxide when burned, making fuel a menace to the surroundings.

Hydrogen, which emits nothing however water vapor, could possibly be a more healthy various. Nonetheless, the widespread use of this “green” power supply is hampered by manufacturing difficulties.

For the primary time, a staff from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Expertise in Moscow has proposed extracting hydrogen from the reservoirs of pure fuel fields, that are wealthy in hydrocarbons that include a considerable amount of hydrogen on the molecular level. Which means that hydrocarbons, as soon as transformed, can yield an abundance of “green” gas.

The staff has proposed an environment friendly, multi-step course of for producing hydrogen from fuel fields. First, steam is injected into the properly together with a catalyst that may later assist separate hydrogen from the pure fuel elements. Then, air or pure oxygen is pumped in to ignite the fuel instantly within the reservoir.

Assisted by the steam and catalyst, the pure fuel burns and is transformed into a combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The carbon dioxide shaped from the carbon monoxide stays within the reservoir and doesn’t contribute to the greenhouse impact.

On the closing stage, hydrogen is extracted from the properly via a membrane that blocks different combustion merchandise, leaving the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide completely trapped underground.

The researchers examined their course of in lab reactors that simulated an actual fuel reservoir surroundings. They positioned crushed rock within the reactor after which pumped in methane, the primary element of pure fuel, together with steam and a catalyst, after which oxygen. The strain contained in the reactor was maintained at a stage typical of fuel reservoirs (eighty instances larger than atmospheric strain).

Because the experiment progressed, the staff analyzed the composition of the gases within the reactor to evaluate the effectivity of the methane conversion into hydrogen. It turned out that many of the hydrogen −45% of the overall fuel quantity—was shaped at 800°C with giant quantities of steam injected into the reactor.

To make the response as environment friendly as attainable, there ought to be 4 instances extra steam than pure fuel. The researchers selected the 800°C temperature as a result of it’s simply achieved in pure fuel combustion and doesn’t should be artificially maintained.

The hydrogen yield additionally relied on the composition of the rock. For instance, in experiments with porous alumina, the hydrogen yield reached 55%. The upper effectivity on this case is defined by the truth that alumina is inert, i.e. it doesn’t react with the encompassing parts. Pure rock comprises different, extra energetic minerals that may react with the elements of the fuel combination and have an effect on the hydrogen yield.

“All the stages of the process are based on well-established technologies that have not previously been adapted for hydrogen production from real gas reservoirs. We have demonstrated that our approach can help convert hydrocarbons into ‘green’ fuels in the field environment with an efficiency of up to 45%. In the future, we plan to test our method in real gas fields,” says Elena Mukhina, Ph.D., a senior analysis scientist at Skoltech Petroleum and the chief of the challenge.